9781620365809 stein jump-start your online classroom · adjusting to an online environment. your...

JUMP-START YOUR ONLINE CLASSROOM

Mastering Five Challenges in Five Days

David S. Stein and Constance E. Wanstreet

STERLING, VIRGINIA

9781620365809_Stein_Jump-Start Your Online Classroom.indb iii9781620365809_Stein_Jump-Start Your Online Classroom.indb iii 7/13/2017 12:59:45 PM7/13/2017 12:59:45 PM

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COPYRIGHT © 2017 BY STYLUS PUBLISHING, LLC.

Published by Stylus Publishing, LLC.22883 Quicksilver DriveSterling, Virginia 20166-2102

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying, recording, and information storage and retrieval, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication DataNames: Stein, David S., author. | Wanstreet, Constance E., author.Title: Jump-start your online classroom : mastering fi ve challenges in fi ve days / David S. Stein, Ph.D. and Constance E. Wanstreet, Ph.D.Description: Sterling, Virginia : Stylus Publishing, 2017. | Includes bibliographical references and index.Identifi ers: LCCN 2017009821 (print) | LCCN 2017032830 (ebook) | ISBN 9781620365823 (uPDF) | ISBN 9781620365830 (ePub, mobi) | ISBN 9781620365809 (cloth :alk. paper) | ISBN 9781620365816 (pbk. : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781620365823 (library networkable e-edition) | ISBN 9781620365830 (consumer e-edition)Subjects: LCSH: Web-based instruction. | Computer-assisted instruction. | Internet in higher education. | College teaching.Classifi cation: LCC LB1044.87 (ebook) | LCC LB1044.87 .S83 2017 (print) | DDC 378.1/7344678--dc23LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017009821

13-digit ISBN: 978-1-62036-580-9 (cloth)13-digit ISBN: 978-1-62036-581-6 (paperback)13-digit ISBN: 978-1-62036-582-3 (library networkable e-edition)13-digit ISBN: 978-1-62036-583-0 (consumer e-edition)

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First Edition, 2017

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9781620365809_Stein_Jump-Start Your Online Classroom.indb iv9781620365809_Stein_Jump-Start Your Online Classroom.indb iv 7/13/2017 12:59:45 PM7/13/2017 12:59:45 PM


1

1T H E O N L I N E E N V I R O N M E N T

To teach online, I must make the commitment to build a learning environment in which learners and I feel safe to explore ideas, to comment frequently on those ideas, to be present in the space,

and to contribute to the ongoing discourse. . . . Teaching an online course requires adequate preparation, clarity, and concern for your learners. It can be rewarding when done with caution.

—Tim, graduate teaching assistant

As a classroom teacher, one of my biggest struggles has always been taking a step back and letting students work things out. I’m defi nitely an extrovert who likes to help, and that can sometimes be

counterintuitive. When I teach online, I need to remember this and avoid being too heavily involved in discussions, viewing myself as a moderator, facilitator, and clarifi er rather than a lecturer.

—Sarah, new online instructor

Your process of becoming an online instructor involves how the follow-ing aspects of an online learning environment affect your teaching: social practices, tools, participants, learning community, and out-

comes. Each of these elements infl uences your practices as an online instructor. After completing this chapter, you will be able to do the following:

• Explain social practices that help create an environment for learning• Describe tools used to create private and public learning spaces• Name ways to help learners feel connected to you and one another• Identify ways to foster coownership of the teaching and learning

process• Describe the role of authentic assessments in measuring outcomes

Interactive, Collaborative Framework

The challenges you will face as a new online instructor mirror the charac-teristics of the environment where teaching and learning will take place. The use of electronic tools and the availability of information can foster

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2 JUMP-START YOUR ONLINE CLASSROOM

a learning environment that is highly interactive, collaborative, and con-structivist. We envision online learning environments as having the follow-ing elements: social practices, tools, participants, learning in community, and outcomes. Figure 1.1 illustrates the components of the framework that refl ect your immediate online teaching challenges (Stein & Wanstreet, 2011).

Social Practices

Social practices regulate actions and interactions within the online learn-ing space. Instructors need to understand how learners interact with their digital devices and with one another. Faculty and instructional support staff help learners manage text-based and voice-based interactions to promote critical thought and deep learning. This involves skill in coaching discussion groups; providing feedback on the quality of online discussions; and offering guidance on expressing oneself online through text, emoticons, and other nonverbal communication.

As faculty change their mind-set from being the primary source of information to guiding students in critically selecting content, what fac-ulty say will become less important than what they do to help generate critical thought. Learners can receive guidance instantly from international scholars, join teams of inquirers from around the world, and work on their academic journey anywhere. Learners are able to knit together for-mal and informal learning resources to complete an inquiry. How learners form their study teams and what the team learned about the inquiry can become more important than any single individual with whom learners study.

OutcomesSocial

Practices

Tools

Participants

Learning inCommunity

Figure 1.1. Elements of the online environment.



THE ONLINE ENVIRONMENT 3

Tools

Instruction is shaped by the interaction of tools, learners, and the instructor. Tools include any device that mediates or shapes the instructional interaction, such as synchronous and asynchronous technology, books, online resources, group size, online learning theories, and self-concepts. Tools continually change, and in the process they change how we teach and learn. For exam-ple, new Internet technologies, social networking sites, wikis, and virtual environments extend learning environments beyond our time and space boundaries.

Participants

The participants in our online classrooms—faculty, learners, subject mat-ter experts, and instructional support staff—each have roles in the learning process. In the online classroom, instructors focus on the learning process rather than on imparting their content knowledge. Learners build knowl-edge by bringing global content sources available anywhere on the Internet into the class to challenge instructors and one another. Experts and others in instructional support can provide immediate assistance and resources to aid learning. Instructors help learners manage this complex, media-rich envi-ronment by orchestrating multiple views and helping learners make new meanings.

Insights From a New Online Instructor

The truth is when you work with other people, work will rarely be divided fairly. We will have some members who do not contribute, some who take control over the whole project, and some who do their fair share. These are the traits of different people. I have been in many groups where I have felt like one other member and I did all of the work. I have also been in groups where I tried to contribute but another member really did not allow it. There will be a learning experience one way or another. I feel the trick is for the instructor to monitor and provide feedback. Also, there should be a clear function for each member. We need to observe our students closely and give them the best tools we can to be successful.

Learning in Community

Ideally, learning takes place in academic communities whose members rec-ognize that learners are coproducers of knowledge. These communities are based on the idea that social groupings can facilitate individual and collective




learning. Learning in community means acquiring new basic skills, includ-ing the ability to work in groups with people of various backgrounds; to communicate effectively, orally and in writing; to combine independent and interdependent work to produce a meaningful outcome; and to use social networking and collaborative software.

Learning in community means being engaged in the task of knowledge building rather than knowledge acquisition and retention. Even in courses that emphasize individual knowledge acquisition, the instructor, at a mini-mum, becomes part of the student’s learning community.

Outcomes

Outcomes are the target of the learning activity. Outcomes refer to the problem space where activity is directed. An example might be the problem of changing a traditional course into a Web-based course. The problem is shaped or transformed into outcomes with the help of mediating instru-ments, tools, and signs. Yesterday, courses were focused on content dissemi-nation and acquisition decontextualized from the daily lives of the learners. Today, courses are sets of knowledge demonstrations. Instruction helps students connect their experience of learning to real-world applications. Faculty and learners alike assess and monitor the validity of content from multiple channels to achieve learning outcomes. In an online course, for example, the course website with its discussion board, chat room, e-mail, and other tools of technology are used by the instructor and by learners to produce course outcomes, such as research, presentations, projects, or papers.

The interaction among tools, participants, social practices, community, and the outcome creates an environment for a meaningful online educational experience.

Relating Online Elements to the Five Challenges

The aspects of the online environment provide a framework for addressing the fi ve challenges that new online instructors face.

1. Making the transition to online teaching is a challenge based in social practices, which include establishing your presence through e-mail, dis-cussion posts, and feedback. Communication processes are more sensitive online and can be easily misunderstood, which makes it imperative for you to model appropriate practice. Preparing a course calendar that lists the due dates for assignments is another practice that aids your learners in




adjusting to an online environment. Your words and actions, including the times of day you are online each week, help you establish your online persona and create an environment for learning.

2. The challenge of building online spaces for learning may be viewed through the tools available to you. Weekly spaces for direction, content, and the context for learning are fairly standard tools, as are community spaces on discussion boards for questions for the instructor and break rooms for nonacademic talk. Spaces may also include private areas for learners to record their emerging ideas and shared spaces for learners to negotiate meaning.

3. Preparing learners for online learning may be viewed through the per-spective of the participants, who will need to feel connected to you and one another. Give your learners an opportunity to learn about you and each other. Preparing learners includes providing them with the syllabus, policies, procedures, expectations, and an opportunity to pose questions and concerns as well as with opportunities to explore the course site before the start of the class.

4. Learning in community provides a framework for the challenge of managing and facilitating the online classroom. Community provides a power ful context for learning where the members interact with one another in a meaningful way and accept coownership of the teaching and learning process. This includes, for example, moving discussions to higher levels by clarifying, expanding on content, explaining, critiquing content, and respectfully pushing others to see the assumptions behind their statements.

5. The assessment challenge is rooted in the learning outcome. Authentic assessments based on a combination of academic content and real-world problems refl ect the course or unit outcome. Meaningful, timely feedback that addresses the strengths as well as areas of improvement promotes the outcome.

Challenges and Completion Plan

A number of refl ection activities throughout this book are designed to help you meet the initial challenges you will face as a new online instructor. The challenges and completion plan in Table 1.1 will help you manage your pro-gress in designing a schedule to accomplish each challenge. Indicate when you intend to complete each challenge. Mark the date completed as a record of your accomplishments.




TABLE 1.1

Challenges and Completion Plan

Element of the Online Environment Challenge

Activity Suggested Due Date

Your Intended Comple-tion Date

Social practices: Making the transition to online teaching

Complete Chapters 2, 3, and 4 refl ec-tion activities:

• Complete the Beginning Online Instructor Competencies Questionnaire in Appendix A.

• Complete the Attitude Toward Online Teaching Questionnaire in Appendix B.

• Develop communication and time management plans for working on your course with resources in Appendices C, D, and E.

Day 1

11:59 p.m.

Tools: Building online spaces for learning

Complete Chapter 5 refl ection activity:

• Explore technology tools (some are listed in Appendix F) and assess the extent to which they promote learning in your course.

Day 2

11:59 p.m.

Participants: Preparing students for online learning

Complete Chapter 6 refl ection activi-ties:

• Draft a course welcome letter and expectations message (samples are in Appendix G).

• Read and refl ect on How to Develop a Scavenger Hunt in Appendix H.

Day 3

11:59 p.m.

Learning community: Managing and facilitating the online classroom

Complete Chapter 7 refl ection activity:

• Read and refl ect on the Case of the Disgruntled Student.

Day 4

11:59 p.m.

(Continues)




Points to Remember

• Social practices help you establish your online persona and create an environment for learning.

• Use tools to build private areas for learners to record their emerging ideas and shared spaces for learners to negotiate meaning.

• Give your learners opportunities to feel connected to you and one another.

• Learning communities provide a powerful context for learning where the members interact with one another in a meaningful way and accept coownership of the teaching and learning process.

• Measure outcomes through authentic assessments and timely, meaningful feedback.

Element of the Online Environment Challenge

Activity Suggested Due Date

Your Intended Comple-tion Date

Outcome: Assessing learner outcomes

Complete Chapter 8 refl ection activi-ties:

• Read and refl ect on the pastor’s e-mail message about his late assignm ent.

• Refl ect on technology tools and the type of assessments that can help build confi dence.

Day 5

11:59 p.m.

For Reflection

1. Examine Table 1.1: Challenges and Completion Plan.2. Adopt or adapt the completion plan to your schedule.

TABLE 1.1 (Continued )



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